I don't believe so, the owner of the Titans also is fed up with Vince Young.

Updated: January 27, 2011

Report: Jeff Fisher out in Tennessee

ESPN.com news services

Jeff Fisher, the longest tenured coach in the league, may soon be parting ways with the Tennessee Titans, SI.com reported Thursday afternoon.

It is not known if Fisher's departure will be called a firing, resignation or mutual parting of ways, SI.com said, according to a source in the NFL.

Fisher was 36 when he was promoted from Oilers defensive coordinator to interim head coach in November 1994. He was named the head coach in January 1995, and went 142-120 (.542) in his 16-plus regular seasons with the Oilers/Titans. Fisher is 5-6 in the playoffs, with one Super Bowl trip after the 1999 season, four division titles and six postseason bids.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6066144

Crash

01-27-2011, 07:56 PM

If Vince stays he should mock Fisher and do that ridiculous V formation gesture Fisher does.

ikestops85

01-27-2011, 08:03 PM

I'll bet you there are a few teams that wished they hadn't hired a new coach yet. I think Fisher is one of the better coaches in the league.

BradshawsHairdresser

01-27-2011, 08:25 PM

I'll bet you there are a few teams that wished they hadn't hired a new coach yet. I think Fisher is one of the better coaches in the league.
$$$
I think he'll have a job offer before long.

Chadman

01-27-2011, 08:38 PM

Cowher to Tennessee??????

:stirpot

feltdizz

01-27-2011, 10:03 PM

Good. While I think Fisher is a good coach I think he deserved part of the blame for the Vince Young fiasco.

It’s rare but not unprecedented to see a surprise firing of a head coach in late January. Two years ago, the Bucs and Broncos dumped Jon Gruden and Mike Shanahan, respectively, long after Black Monday had ended.

But for the move to come after the team announced that the coach would return breaks new ground — and borders on the boundaries of bizarre.

“With what I am paying him, I am not going to let him go and pay him a lot of money,” owner Bud Adams told Jim Wyatt of the Nashville Tennessean earlier this month. “I was thinking we could get him and Vince [Young] together, but it wasn’t going to work so I had to stick with Jeff and let Vince go.”

Apart from the most obvious question, the move raises plenty of issues for further consideration.

1. Does this mean quarterback Vince Young will stay?

Adams’ past words suggest an either-or proposition. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Titans still plan to trade or release Young. (They most likely won’t be able to trade him, given that he’s owed a hefty roster bonus on the fifth day of the 2011 league year.) Given the abrupt reversal that has occurred regarding Fisher, we can’t rule out an eventual reversal regarding Young, too.

2. Is Fisher being paid not to coach the team in 2011?

Adams made it clear he had no interest in paying Fisher not to coach. So did Fisher give up his right to be paid in 2011 for the ability to make his exit?

Apparently, yes. FOXSports.com reports that Fisher will receive nearly $8 million to not coach the team in 2011, the final year of his contract.

3. Who will coach the team now?

Over the weekend, Charley Casserly of CBS reported that offensive line coach Mike Munchak would be the best candidate to succeed Fisher after 2011. There’s a chance that timetable has been accelerated.

Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean says the “early indications” point to Munchak.

Promoting Munchak would provide some continuity in an offseason in which, given the lockout, continuity would be critical.

But what about Eric Mangini, lurking in the weeds as a candidate for defensive coordinator? Maybe he actually has been lurking for a spot one level higher on the organizational chart.

Regardless, the Titans will have to comply with the Rooney Rule. So they’ll need to keep their cards close to the vest as to the identity of Fisher’s successor.

4. What’s next for Fisher?

The media-friendly Fisher could land a job with ESPN or NFL Network. Or he could roll up his sleeves and serve as defensive coordinator with a team that still hasn’t hired one, like the Eagles.

Or, possibly, his departure could be the first domino in a late-January chain reaction that sees another team pull a surprise switcheroo.

What if, for example, Peyton Manning were to include in his contract demands with the Colts an off-the-record request for a potential upgrade at the position of head coach?

Not many players could pull off such a power play. Peyton Manning is one of the few who can.

We know, we know. It’s a crazy, kooky-talk suggestion. But stranger things have happened. Today.

5. What made this happen now?

After everything that has occurred since the 2010 season ended, the true story regarding Fisher’s departure surely has details that will provide plenty of fodder for analysis and debate.

The notion that the 88-year-old Adams suddenly decided to pay Fisher $8 million to walk away has a Leon Hess feel to it. Adams apparently thinks he has developed a strategy for winning a Super Bowl that doesn’t include the guy who finagled only one appearance in the NFL title game in 16-plus years on the job.

Or maybe Adams realizes that, with only one more year together, Fisher likely wouldn’t do what he hadn’t previously done since getting the job in 1994. So why not start his successor’s tenure one year sooner?

I think the owner looked at Vince Young's record and compared it to Fisher's record. Adams has always like Young and Fisher was never a fan of VY's.

I think coaches like Fisher, Fox, Shanahan and maybe even Cowher will struggle to win in this new era of football. The vet first conservative formula doesn't work anymore. Yuhave to let the kids play and have fun while blending in a firm formula. Also have to wonder If owners are goin to pay their large salaries when they are seeing cheaper talent get to SB's.

Here’s another question raised by the abrupt termination of Jeff Fisher’s employment as coach of the Titans.

Who’ll take his place on the Competition Committee?

Fisher serves as a co-chair of the league’s influential rule-making body. The fact that he’s not employed in a high-level capacity with an NFL team will make it very difficult if not impossible for him to retain his high-level spot on the Competition Committee.

Fisher’s firing will spark a skirmish for the vacant seat. Since Fisher’s spot was held by a head coach, we’d appoint Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.

In less than four years on the job, Tomlin has become one of the best coaches in the league, and he’ll be coaching an NFL team (quite possibly only the Steelers) for many years to come. The Steelers are football and right now Tomlin is the Steelers. He needs to be on the Competition Committee.

I always thought fisher was overrated as a coach. Maybe bud Adams looked at his actual record and thought he could do better . . . JF finished at 500 or less 11 out of his 16 years . . . 10 of 15 if you throw out his first season, which he came in as coach late. His good seasons were really good, as evidenced by this fact and that his career record is 20 games over 500, but that shows me that he isn't one to deal well with adversity or lead hi steam to wins when they should be losign them. He rolls on the wave when they are good. The comparison to Bill Cowher usually comes up, but Cowher won a lot more than he lost, even if it wasn't a SB until late in his coaching career.

Oviedo

01-28-2011, 10:13 AM

I'll bet you there are a few teams that wished they hadn't hired a new coach yet. I think Fisher is one of the better coaches in the league.
$$$
I think he'll have a job offer before long.

Absolutely. You don't think that the Raiders, Browns and the others just went "Oh sh*t"

It may also have been timed because Fisher wanted a year off to get his head together and not jumping into a new situation with the current labor situation.

Alot of current coaches are going to feel the heat next season because you now have three superstar coaches waiting to step in with Cowher, Gruden and now Fisher.

SanAntonioSteelerFan

01-28-2011, 10:15 AM

I'll bet you there are a few teams that wished they hadn't hired a new coach yet. I think Fisher is one of the better coaches in the league.
$$$
I think he'll have a job offer before long.

Absolutely. You don't think that the Raiders, Browns and the others just went "Oh sh*t"

It may also have been timed because Fisher wanted a year off to get his head together and not jumping into a new situation with the current labor situation.

Alot of current coaches are going to feel the heat next season because you now have three superstar coaches waiting to step in with Cowher, Gruden and now Fisher.

I'm never sure I understood Gruden being showered with accolades. He makes good game face ("Chuckie!"), but isn't it pretty much accepted he won his Superbowl because he played against a team he coached the year before and so he knew ALL their plays? (Plus, he had Dungee's and Tomlin's defense in place :wink: ) Why the media love for the guy as a COACH ... are they just blinded by how well he presents on TV?

Iron Shiek

01-28-2011, 01:43 PM

I'll bet you there are a few teams that wished they hadn't hired a new coach yet. I think Fisher is one of the better coaches in the league.
$$$
I think he'll have a job offer before long.

Absolutely. You don't think that the Raiders, Browns and the others just went "Oh sh*t"

It may also have been timed because Fisher wanted a year off to get his head together and not jumping into a new situation with the current labor situation.

Alot of current coaches are going to feel the heat next season because you now have three superstar coaches waiting to step in with Cowher, Gruden and now Fisher.

I'm never sure I understood Gruden being showered with accolades. He makes good game face ("Chuckie!"), but isn't it pretty much accepted he won his Superbowl because he played against a team he coached the year before and so he knew ALL their plays? (Plus, he had Dungee's and Tomlin's defense in place :wink: ) Why the media love for the guy as a COACH ... are they just blinded by how well he presents on TV?

on the contrary, couldn't you argue that callahan took the raiders to the super bowl with "Gruden's Players" and that Gruden took the Bucs over the top (something Dungy/Tomlin) couldn't do?

He has been fairly successful everywhere he's been (from coordinator to head coaching) and I've read most players like him as a coach in general.

The departure of Jeff Fisher in Tennessee doesn’t mean that Vince Young will get his tenth life in Nashville.

Titans G.M. Mike Reinfeldt confirmed multiple reports that the team still plans to trade or release Young this offseason. (As Florio points out, they also said Jeff Fisher was staying.)

The disappointment with Young within the Titans organization went beyond Fisher. Players and front office members reportedly felt let down by the quarterback. NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi said this week that Young’s lack of work ethic is “legendary” around the team.

I'm never sure I understood Gruden being showered with accolades. He makes good game face ("Chuckie!"), but isn't it pretty much accepted he won his Superbowl because he played against a team he coached the year before and so he knew ALL their plays? (Plus, he had Dungee's and Tomlin's defense in place :wink: ) Why the media love for the guy as a COACH ... are they just blinded by how well he presents on TV?

"You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain"

I think it applies to coaches too... Cowher, Gruden and Dungy are all viewed as coaches who would turn any team into a winner. They all left the game soon after their SB win so they are coveted and viewed as geniuses.

I wouldn't be surprised if all failed the second time around. I would actually put my money on none of them reaching another SB unless they took over their old teams, except for Tampa Bay, they don't have the QB or D to get there.

None of them will ever coach again IMO.

Irongut

01-28-2011, 10:14 PM

I'm never sure I understood Gruden being showered with accolades. He makes good game face ("Chuckie!"), but isn't it pretty much accepted he won his Superbowl because he played against a team he coached the year before and so he knew ALL their plays? (Plus, he had Dungee's and Tomlin's defense in place :wink: ) Why the media love for the guy as a COACH ... are they just blinded by how well he presents on TV?

"You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain"

I think it applies to coaches too... Cowher, Gruden and Dungy are all viewed as coaches who would turn any team into a winner. They all left the game soon after their SB win so they are coveted and viewed as geniuses.

I wouldn't be surprised if all failed the second time around. I would actually put my money on none of them reaching another SB unless they took over their old teams, except for Tampa Bay, they don't have the QB or D to get there.

None of them will ever coach again IMO.
Freeman is one of the best young QB talents in the league.